With development of communications technologies, an machine-to-machine (M2M) communications system emerges. As shown in FIG. 1, the M2M communications system is a network-based system architecture focusing on intelligent interaction between devices. An M2M technology provides a means of real-time data transmission between systems, remote devices, and/or individuals, and a wireless communications module is built inside a device in the M2M communications system, to implement functions such as performing monitoring, commanding and dispatching, data collection, and measurement on the device.
Currently, the M2M communications system is widely applied to many scenarios, such as smart metering, environment monitoring, and remote monitoring. For example, in a smart metering scenario, a device in the M2M communications system needs to periodically monitor and report use of water, electricity, and gas. When a user does not pay bills, the device remotely cuts off energy supply, and may update subscription information after a house tenant changes.
In a running process, the device in the M2M communications system needs to monitor downlink scheduling data, and the device in the M2M communications system is powered by a battery. If the device is always in a state of monitoring the downlink scheduling data, power consumption of the device is relatively large; or if the device is always in a state of not monitoring the downlink scheduling data, the downlink scheduling data cannot be received in a timely manner. During monitoring of downlink scheduling data, it is apparently inappropriate to consider only timely receiving of the downlink scheduling data without considering power consumption of a device. Likewise, it is also apparently inappropriate to consider only power consumption of a device without considering timely receiving of the downlink scheduling data.
Therefore, how to better balance a relationship between power saving of a device and timely receiving of downlink scheduling data is an urgent problem that needs to be resolved in the M2M communications system.